FILE - In this Feb. 1, 2016, file photo, Kelley Paul, wife of Republican Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky, watches him speak to supporters during a caucus night rally at the Scottish Rite Consistory in Des Moines, Iowa. Kelley Paul writes in an essay published by CNN on Nov. 22, 2017, that her husband hasn’t taken a single breath without pain since what she calls “a deliberate, blindside attack” by the family’s Kentucky neighbor earlier this month. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The wife of U.S. Sen. Rand Paul says her husband hasn't taken a single breath without pain since what she calls "a deliberate, blindside attack" by a Kentucky neighbor earlier this month.

Authorities say the Republican was attacked Nov. 3 by Rene Boucher while mowing his lawn. Kelley Paul writes in an essay published by CNN that her husband suffered six broken ribs and fluid in his lungs. Paul says he was diagnosed with pneumonia after returning from Washington last week.

Boucher is charged with misdemeanor assault. His attorney blames the attack on a "trivial" dispute and says it wasn't politically motivated.

Kelly Paul says neither she, nor her husband, have spoken to Boucher in 10 years. She writes that "the only 'dispute' existed solely in the attacker's troubled mind."